


Afterthought

by sofa_and_stuff



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Tsukishima Kei, Misunderstandings, Multi, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, gender neutral reader, poly tsukiyama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27595841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sofa_and_stuff/pseuds/sofa_and_stuff
Summary: Yamaguchi had asked you out, and then, two weeks later, the two of you had welcomed Tsukishima into your relationship. Showered him in love and affection, told him how special he was to the both of you. So why did he feel so forgotten around the two of you? Why did he feel so bad?
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Reader, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi/Reader, Yamaguchi Tadashi/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 79





	Afterthought

**Author's Note:**

> Poly tsukiyama x reader fic. Purely self-indulgent angst to fluff :)

Tsukishima Kei wasn’t one for insecurity. Don’t be fooled, he _was_ wildly insecure, he just didn’t like people realizing it. To combat this, he kept himself guarded, kept his walls up, stone cold and sturdy. He never got hurt this way. He liked it like this. Only letting certain people in. It gave people less of a chance to break in and then hurt him.

Tsukishima knew he was taking a risk when he let you into his life, but he was okay with that. He trusted you. He had _l_ _earned_ to trust you. Yamaguchi trusted you, too. That was why it was so easy for him to trust you, too, he supposed. He had a soft spot for Yamaguchi, and soon, he developed one for you along with it.

Tsukki and Yamaguchi did everything together—went to the same high school, joined the same club, were even in the same class. They were practically joined at the hip from childhood. They were interdependent, relying on each other over anything else. They couldn’t imagine life without the other.

So, it was only natural that they shared a significant other.

In fact, when you’d met the two of them, you’d assumed they were already dating. There was something about they way they shared glances—Tsukishima’s eyes softening ever so slightly when he looked at Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi making no attempt to hide his beaming smile back at him. It wasn’t until Yamaguchi had asked you out one winter day, under a clear skin, cheeks a bright apple-y red, both from the cold and his confession, that you’d realized they weren’t actually together.

It was only after two weeks of you and Yamaguchi dating that Tsukishima (begrudgingly) confessed to the both of you, not liking feeling left out, like some kind of background character. An annoyed expression on his face, he’d told the both of you that he’d liked the both of you but had been too chicken to do anything about it. You and Yamaguchi, both not knowing what to do, had waited a week, talking things over, before realizing that you both had reciprocated Tsukishima’s feelings.

Thus began a whole new chapter.

Tsukishima, pride ever present, told you and Yamaguchi to continue on as a couple, only breaking a little bit when you and Yamaguchi had accepted his confession. Still, he told you that he didn’t want to make things weird, so he insisted that you and Yamaguchi remain a couple, act like nothing had changed.

He didn’t want to let people in, he didn’t want people to know he cared about the two of you. So, to the outside world, it was you, Yamaguchi, and permanent third wheel Tsukki. Never apart.

In private, behind closed doors, the three of you were happy together. Kisses and cuddles and movie night upon movie night. Tsukishima withholding kisses until you and Yamaguchi would agree to study. Yamaguchi leaving cute notes in both yours and Tsukishima’s notebooks. You bringing them baked goods. Truly, everything seemed perfect between the three of you; Tsukishima got to appear stoic to the outside world, just like he wanted, and you and Yamaguchi got to continue being the sickeningly sweet and sappy couple you already were.

In school, it was Tsukishima and his two annoying friends who started dating each other, much to his chagrin. At home, it was the three of you, in love and ever so sweet.

Tsukishima liked this. He didn’t care that he couldn’t hold the both of your hands in public. He couldn’t care less about not getting to kiss the both of you after a big game. Besides, he hated PDA.

So why was he so upset?

This morning, the three of you had walked to school together after an impromptu study session sleepover at Yamaguchi’s house.

You and Yamaguchi were all over each other. Your hand finding Yamaguchi’s instantly as the three of you stepped out the front door, Yamaguchi giving you a soft kiss on the top of your head, reaching over and carrying your schoolbag.

The two of you looked like a couple.

For fucksake, you were even wearing Yamaguchi’s team jacket.

And what was Tsukishima? The third friend. An addition. An afterthought. The friend that lingered behind, stepping in the grass to make room for the others. He hated it. He hated this. But it was his idea to let the two of you keep up the appearance of being a couple, and he’d be damned if he went back on words, even if it would cause all of you to suffer.

He let his feelings fester all day, his chest aching as he watched you and Tsukishima pass notes to each other in class, watched the two of you share a kiss in the hall outside of your classroom. He felt a particularly painful pang in his heart when he heard some classmates talking about Yamaguchi’s and your relationship.

“They’re so cute together,” he’d heard a girl say, his ears perking up at gossip about his two partners. “I wonder why they keep Tsukishima around. He’s so…”

“So not compatible with them, right? They’re so cute and sweet, and he’s just not.”

He’d walked up behind the two girls and scoffed at them, telling them off for talking about something that had absolutely nothing to do them with, saying that they should spend their time looking for their own significant others instead of talking about other peoples’ relationships. “Pathetic,” he’d sneered, showing no sign of any emotion.

Inside his mind, though, dark clouds of insecurity were swirling. The whole day he’d felt off, watching you and Yamaguchi. The two of you seemed fine without him, cute, just like the girls had said. The two of you were perfect. A model couple. And then there he was, insecure, arrogant, prideful, _mean_. Did the two of you even need him around? Did you even _want_ him around?

What Tsukishima failed to notice all day were the small glances you and Yamaguchi were exchanging. Furrowed browns and confused, fake smiles, every so often after looking at Tsukishima.

-

It all came to a head during practice. Tsukishima was tired, upset, and frankly, he was jealous. He’d spent all day watching you and Yamaguchi give and receive affection. He’d had to deal with the little tugging in his heart every time he heard the two of you use pet names and not mention his. He was starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, he wanted that, too. He didn’t want to be some private part of your lives anymore. He was only getting a fraction of the love that you and Yamaguchi had given to each other, and he felt _forgotten_. Left out. Unimportant.

The first years had all taken a break to drink some water and cool off, standing on the sidelines, chatting about. His interest picqued when he heard Yachi ask Yamaguchi about you: what was she doing?

“The two of you are so sweet together!” Yachi gushed, making Yamaguchi flush a dark shade of red. In any other situation, Tsukishima would have found it cute, but now? He was pissed. Yachi should’ve been talking about how cute the three of you were together; how sweet it was that Tsukishima had a soft spot for the both of you.

Nevertheless, Yachi pressed on.

“Oh! I heard from them that you’re going on a date to that cat cafe that just opened down the street!” Yachi exclaimed excitedly, to which Yamaguchi nodded.

“Yeah, they seemed really excited about it, and well, uh, I just wanna make them happy, so…” Yamaguchi trailed off, a small smile on his face.

“Ugh! You two are so cute, I swear! That’s totally your vibe.”

Tsukishima was _fuming_. When had Yamaguchi asked you on a date? Why wasn’t he invited? Were the two of you icing him out? This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. He wasn’t supposed to let his walls down only to have you and Yamaguchi utterly and brutally destroy him.

Whatever. If you and Yamaguchi wanted to make plans by yourself, then you could. Tsukishima wanted nothing to do with it.

The rest of practice was odd for Yamaguchi and Tsukishima—they didn’t say a word to each other, Tsukishima only giving Yamaguchi icy glares any time he opened his mouth. He didn’t want to talk to him, not right now, not after he was sent reeling by the fact that the two of you were spending time together without him.

When practice ended, Tsukishima left quickly, walking home without Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi was left feeling lost and hurt.

The next few days confused you and Yamaguchi to no end. Tsukishima refused to answer either of your calls; when you proposed that the three of you study together again, you got no response from Tsukishima. You and Yamaguchi began to worry.

During lunch, he’d sneak off before you even got the chance to talk to him. And during class he’d either rat you out to your teachers for trying to talk to him, or he’d put his headphones on and ignore the two of you.

You and Yamaguchi were desperate. You’d caught Yamaguchi almost in tears the day before, having to console him about Tsukishima. Not that you’d done a very good job, as at the end of the day you’d both ended up cuddled together in Yamaguchi’s bed, crying about Tsukishima’s absence and his refusal to talk to the two of you. You both missed him. So much. He was such an integral part of your dynamic—he evened out the balance. He was the salt to yours and Yamaguchi’s sickeningly sweet sugar. You both needed him. And he was _ignoring you._

It’d be easier for you and Yamaguchi to handle it if the two of you knew what you’d done wrong. At least, that’s what you’d convinced yourselves as you’d planned out how to talk to Tsukishima about why he was avoiding the both of you.

Yamaguchi was supposed to talk to him during practice—the only place where Tsukishima couldn’t weasel his way out of Yamaguchi’s confrontation. He was supposed to ask Tsukishima to walk home with him, and then you’d wait at the school gate for the two of them so that all three of you could finally talk. It seemed simple enough. Easy, almost.

It did not pan out well.

When Yamaguchi had approached Tsukishima in the clubroom—after the rest of the members had slowly filtered out, leaving only the two of them—Tsukishima had scoffed and tried to push past him. But Yamaguchi wasn’t having his shit, not now. Not after weeks of him ignoring the two of you. Tsukishima owed the both of you an explanation. And that’s what Yamaguchi thought as he yanked Tsukishima’s shirt back, causing the lanky teen to stumble and turn to face him.

“What’s your problem?!” Yamaguchi almost yelled, voice strained with emotion.

Tsukishima simply tsk’d, eyes darting down to the floor.

“There’s no problem, Yamaguchi.”

“Bullshit, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi grabbed the collar of Tsukki’s shirt, taking a step closer to him so that he could practically feel Tsukishima’s breath fanning his face.

“You’ve been ignoring me—us!—for almost a week! What the hell?” Yamaguchi’s face was flushed with emotions. Hurt, anger, confusion—everything he’d been feeling for the past week bubbling over. He knew he was supposed to wait for you to have this conversation, but now that he had Tsukishima alone? He needed to know.

“I said that there’s no problem. Stop making this such big deal.” Tsukishima steeled his gaze, finally meeting Yamaguchi’s eyes. A look of hurt was flashing across his features, and Tsukishima could feel his chest constrict. He hadn’t meant to make either of you feel bad, per se. He just felt so… out of place, so strange around the two of you recently. He thought that he could give you some breathing room and sort out his feelings without any of this drama.

“Kei,” Yamaguchi whispered, eerily quietly, “Tell. Me.” His grip tightened on Tsukishima’s collar, and Tsukishima couldn’t take this. He pushed Yamaguchi away—with a little too much force. Yamaguchi’s body flew back, with him falling against the floor, clattering things around.

“Hey!” He heard someone yell from outside, “what’s going on in there?”

Tsukishima hastily picked up his bag, sparing one glance back at Yamaguchi—his face pained and hand gripping his elbow, which he must’ve hit when he fell—and darted out of the clubroom.

He’d fucked up.

Tsukishima rushed past his teammates, who were now clambering into the clubroom to see if Yamaguchi was okay.

He wasn’t supposed to do that. He just got nervous. Yamaguchi made him nervous. How was he supposed to explain his dumb insecurities?

_Oh yeah, I’m totally jealous of how the two of you act in public even though I said that I’d rather be caught dead than participate in PDA_. God no. He wasn’t gonna say something stupid like that. He just needed time to figure out how to approach this, how to somehow bring it up In a way that wouldn’t damage his pride.

As kept thinking while walking, he didn’t stop to notice you waiting by the school’s gate.

“Tsukki?” You’d called out, tone worried and soft, reaching for his hand. He jerked it back, away from your grasp, and reacted to your soft expression with a piercing stare.

“What?”

“Please, come on,” you pleaded, “just talk to me and ‘Dashi.”

You looked around, finally realizing that Yamaguchi was nowhere to be seen.

“Tsukki…” you trailed off, peering behind him, “where exactly _is_ Tadashi?”

“He’s…” he peered at you, a slight hint of guilt flashing across his features. You could read him like a book.

“What did you do?” You asked, voice still soft, but a small bit stern. You loved the both of them, and the thought of them fighting hurt.

“I just didn’t want to talk.” He huffed. “Just like what you’re doing right now. I just, I don’t want this.”

“You don’t want this?” You asked, and he nodded.

“ _This_?“ you gestured between the two of you, and his eyes widened as your eyes started watering just a little bit.

“Yes! God, I mean no—I, ugh!” He threw his hands in the air, and then let them sink over his eyes. “Why does this have to be so frustrating and complicated?!”

“You tell me,” another voice chimed in. He spun around to see Yamaguchi approaching him from behind. Great, now he was stuck.

“Listen,” you started, “we love you so much. And neither of us wants to force you to do anything but…”

“We miss you,” Yamaguchi finished. “And it hurts when you ignore us. What did we do?”

“Did we do something wrong?” You asked again, reaching for Tsukishima’s hand. This time, he let you take it, the sad expression on your face cracking his defenses.

“No, I just,” he couldn’t find the words. What was he supposed to say? Here the two of you were, professing how much you loved him, how much you missed him, and how much he had /hurt/ you.

Yamaguchi took two long strides and he was at your side, taking Tsukishima’s other hand, giving him a soft, sad smile.

“If you’re not happy with us, you can tell us, y’know?”

“No! That’s not it!” This was hard for Tsukishima. Feelings were never his strong suit, especially after spending so many years building up his wall against the outside world.

“I was, um..” He looks back and forth between the two of your faces, unsure of how to proceed. He didn’t want to lose either of you. And it was clear that his insecurities weren’t his reality—here the two of you were, so in love with him.

“I was just kinda jealous.”

Yamaguchi was the first to act, wrapping his arms around the both of you and pulling the three of you into a big hug.

“‘M sorry,” you said, muffled against the two boys.

Tsukishima patted your head, wrapping his other arm around Yamaguchi as he continued.

“I just kept hearing people talk about the two of you, and then I heard that you two were going on a date and… I guess I just felt…” he couldn’t say it. It was too hard. And so, Yamaguchi, being the resident Tsukki mindreader, filled in the blank and finished it for him.

“You felt like a third wheel?”

Tsukishima nodded, face flushed and expression hard to read.

You looked up at him, a pout on your face.

“If you’d just told us earlier then you’d find out that we were gonna invite you,” you sighed, resting your head against his chest, relishing in the warmth of both of your boys. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Yamaguchi nodded along with you.

“We’d been feeling kinda bad about being all… couple-y without you, and we wanted to beg you to finally go public.”

This was ridiculous. Tsukishima couldn’t help but let out a snicker, stepping back and breaking your little hug.

“I’m sorry, too,” he sighed, looking at the two of you: his partners. His favorite people. “I guess I should’ve said something.”

You and Yamaguchi nodded, but smiled nonetheless.

“It’s okay! We just have to make up for lost time now!” You grabbed both boys’ hands, interlocking your fingers with theirs, and you all began the trek back to Yamaguchi’s.

The three of you had so many study-nights-turned-cuddle-sessions to make up for.

**Author's Note:**

> my first crack at a poly ship x reader. I kinda banged this out in two hours--I've had it waiting in my drafts for a month, and just wanted to finish it. Apologies if there are any spelling/grammar errors, I'll get around to fixing them at some point. As always, comments are always encouraged :3


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